If you want to plan a summer elopement, then look no further than Ouray, Colorado. Ouray is located in the San Juan Mountains amongst the highest concentrations of ~14,000-foot peaks in North America. This makes for some pretty epic scenery! And what makes the Ouray area such a great elopement spot is that you can explore these dramatic peaks by Jeep on an incredible network of off road trails. We’re always down to explore places on foot, but getting to these views by Jeep is such an amazing experience. Together, we embarked on one of our favorite Sunrise + Sunset elopement adventures in Ouray, Colorado where we got to celebrate the elopement throughout the whole day, from (quite literally) the sunrise to the sunset, making for epic and unforgettable memories.
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Ouray elopement: a sunrise first look in the mountains
We kicked off the day at 5 AM by meeting in the parking lot and started our drive out to the basin. Because there was a landslide in the area a few days before Amanda and Andy’s elopement, we went to another location that was just as dreamy and magical to capture their marriage.
Amanda wore a stunning black dress from Loulette Bride that totally popped against the green, grass-coated mountains and brightly colored wildflowers amongst us. The combination of her hair and makeup from Angie Evans, the florals from 3 Leaf Floral, and the event coordinator from K2 Event Co. made for a wonderful and easygoing day. We hung out, made some coffee, then hit the road to head back to town. We couldn’t stop talking about how badass the Jeeps were and all of us went home with ideas of buying our own! A huge shoutout goes to Colorado 145 for making our off-roading dreams come true!
After a little bit of a break (and to rest from the 5 AM wake-up call), we met back up with Andy, Amanda and their friends and family for the ceremony. To the mountains we went – we all jumped back into our Jeeps and headed to another epic location for the exchanging of vows! As one always should to celebrate, we popped some bubbly after the ceremony and enjoyed the company with the newlyweds.
We can never get enough of the dreamy, mountainous landscape of Colorado, so we insisted on shooting some more photos while watching the beautiful, summer sunset, then ended the day by having a group dinner with everyone in Ouray. The summer is a perfect time to elope in Ouray, Colorado and we couldn’t recommend it more!
Hooked on eloping in Colorado? Check out our 11 Ideas for Your Colorado Elopement!
Planning an Elopement of your own? Check out these elopement planning resources: